Memorial Day and grilling burgers seem to be synonymous, so get ready to tune into some juicy, well-seasoned programming on Cooking Channel as we kick off Burger Week. We’re turning to the coals for over-the-top, fire-kissed burgers that you won’t find at a drive-through window.

Start on Sunday, May 26 with the Deen Burger complete with applewood-smoked bacon, sharp Cheddar, avocado and Jamie’s special sauce. Then catch an episode of Unique Eats and go beyond the traditional with the Smokey Burger (pictured above) topped with Smoked Beef Brisket, BBQ sauce and gouda.

Next Sunday is Cinco de Mayo, a celebration of Mexico’s vibrant heritage that almost always involves lively fiestas and dishes that are muy caliente. Get ready for a week of festivities with some Scoville-worthy programming on Cooking Channel.

What better way to anticipate this May 5th celebration than by tuning into Cooking Channel to see how Alton Brown makes homemade chili powder (Friday, May 3, at 8:30pm ET) or how Bobby Flay throws a Mexican-inspired brunch (Thursday, May 2, at 9:30pm ET)? You can also visit some of the spiciest kitchens around the country with Unique Eats(Saturday, May 4, at 5pm ET), and be sure to stay tuned for Saturday’s prime-time marathon of Heat Seekers (starting at 8pm ET) as chefs Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking explore the fruity, raw heat of chiles. From fiery salsas (Wednesday, May 1, at 8pm ET) to jalapeno-laced guacamole, we have all things hot and spicy this week on Cooking Channel.

Each episode is like a personal cooking lesson with some of America’s most talented chefs as they delve into the secrets behind making their most outstanding dishes. From Bison Empanadas in Louisville to Smoked Beef Pierogies in Michigan, discover the dishes (and cook the recipes) that make these restaurants truly some of America’s best bites.

When Ming Tsai was a guest chef on The View, he was told by the show’s food stylist not to expect Whoopi Goldberg to eat anything he made — she was just too picky. Determined to prove the food stylist wrong, Ming crafted a menu that even Whoopi couldn’t help but love. Now, a few years later, not only is Ming one of the only chefs who Whoopi trusts with her culinary quirks, the two have become good friends. Tonight at 10pm ET on Cooking Channel’s Masters, as these two masters of their respective crafts get together to cook a meal, they’ll talk about food, their careers and life at large. I won’t even try to recount this dynamic duo’s natural and (often hilariously) candid tête-à-tête, but I will share Ming’s mouthwatering menu.

First up, Ming makes Whoopi’s favorite Chinese appetizer: traditional pork and ginger dumplings (or pot stickers). Did you know that the origin of potstickers is really one big, happy accident? Hundreds of years ago, the emperor’s cook ran out of water while steaming his dumplings and they stuck to the bottom of the pan (thus the name). But much to the cook’s surprise, the emperor loved the crispy texture. From then on, steamed-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-bottom dumplings have been a Chinese staple, and yes, even Whoopi can’t help but be a fan.

Next up, Ming puts a Chinese twist on American fried chicken with a rub made up of eight spices (and really 12, since one of those spices is five spice powder). Dipped in buttermilk and thrown into a bubbling pool of oil, Ming’s chicken is crispy, spicy and finger-lickin’ good.

Tune in tonight at 10pm ET to Cooking Channel’s Masters and watch as Ming serves up a meal fit for kings (and Academy Award winners) and Whoopi serves up good conversation and plenty of laughs.

Beginning tonight, April 16, at 8pm ET, food trucks from across the country will park on a television near you for Cooking Channel’s newest season of Eat St. Host James Cunningham makes pit stops across the country to discover some of the best, messiest and most creative eats on wheels for the ultimate street food experience.

Tune in to Cooking Channel tonight at 10pm ET for GAC’s Farm Kings and watch as the King family of Freedom Farms battle the weather and each other to bring fresh produce to the locals.

These burley brothers (with the help of mama bear Lisa) work the land while running a farm store and bakery. Keeping the business running — from planning fall festivals and making homemade cider to planting and picking fresh crops — requires all ten siblings working 7 days a week. While Lisa holds the family together and makes sure the work gets done fast (she can bake 30 pies in an hour), Joe, the oldest of the ten King kids, runs the show, making all the business decisions for Freedom Farms. Each family member has a crucial role in bringing it all together, whether it’s being “the plant doctor” (Tim) or “the human harvester” (Pete). From early-morning picking to late shifts at the bakery, this passionate family works hard to bring fresh food to hungry customers. With strong work ethics inspired by Lisa, it’s no wonder this family was born to farm.

It’s an incontrovertible fact that fried foods pair fantastically with other fried foods.

Comfort food. Utterly lacking in rules and regulations or even regionalisms, its a culinary genre that’s near and dear to most of our hearts. Despite its vast and unwieldy plethora of options, nobody has to ask what constitutes as comfort food. You know it when you see it (because it always looks preposterously amazing). Comfort food pushes us beyond the physical realm of taste into the emotional realm of feeling, as in “This burger makes me feel like all is right with the world,” or “I’m divorcing my husband to marry this donut.”* It’s pizza and burgers and mac ‘n’ cheese and pie and donuts and pretty much anything deep-fried. Sure there’s a 99.5% chance that it’s terrible for you, but it feels so good going down — and don’t you deserve to feel good now and then? We think so, and that’s why we’re presenting you with Unique Eats Comfort Foods tonight at 8pm ET.

John struggles to admit that an orange pepper has, in fact, gone bad. Even after Sarah, a personal organizer assigned the task of helping John clean out his fridge, points out mold spots, he grimaces to see it thrown away. This is because John is a food hoarder — a psychological condition only recently studied at length. Hoarding, or “stock piling” as it’s called in some cases, is characterized by the excessive retention of … well, everything, as well as an inability to organize and throw things away. From the outside, people like John appear to live normal lives in normal apartments and homes, but inside it’s just a downright mess.

Tune in to Cooking Channel at at 2:30pm ET for a taste of GAC’s Kimberly’s Simply Southern with Kimberly Schlapman, of the band Little Big Town, bringing us authentic Southern recipes from her Nashville kitchen.

As Kimberly tours America with her country-singing quartet, she explores the wonderful local foods in each city. This life on the road helps her learn about different ingredients while meeting the many fascinating people that share her love of food. Everyone she meets adds a touch of inspiration to her classic Southern recipes, and back in her kitchen in Nashville, Kimberly whips up her own twist on some traditional family recipes. And don’t be surprise when Kimberley welcomes a few fellow country artists into her home to help her cook and feast on the authentic Southern meals.

If you haven’t noticed, generic delivery pizza is becoming less of a culinary archetype and more of an artifact, and millions of pizza lovers in this country have helped elevate it to something far more experiential. While there’s nothing wrong with the simplicity of classic staple toppings like tomato and mozzarella, nowadays fortune clearly favors the brave when it comes to ingredients. In fact, I’d venture to say the best thing about American pizza is the way it’s constantly being reinvented. Pies are blank canvases of doughy crust — a true tabula rasa — that layer after layer get transformed into discus-shaped delights. We, with our discerning pizza palettes, are no longer content with plain ol’ pepperoni and mundane mushrooms; we want slices that shock and awe. The only real rule for building a bold, pie masterpiece (masterpie, if you will) is that it tastes awesome in the end.

Now as you may or may not know, a good majority of us here at Cooking Channel live in New York City, and as you may or may not have heard, the vast majority of New Yorkers are big, giant pizza snobs. And listen, I get it. Without New York’s Little Italy, American pizza would not be what it is today. This is where pizza in America began and now you literally can not walk five blocks without passing an array of independently-owned pizza joints. Barring Chicago (and let’s get real, Chi-town, I’m from NC and even I know deep dish isn’t really pizza — it’s a casserole) and Naples, pizza’s birthplace, it’s rare we hear of places rivaling New York’s caliber of pizza … at least that used to be the case.

This Sunday, Cooking Channel’s in hot pursuit of famed “masterpie” builders on Pizza Outside the Box, and we’re traveling coast to coast in search of them. Not only have we discovered ten of the most deliciously daring and unorthodox pizza pies in the country, but guess what? NONE of them are in New York! Not a one. Whether grilled in Rhode Island or baked in a thousand degree oven in Boulder, Napoletana-style or with an Asian twist, each of these pizzas are famous for their unique ingredients and flavor combinations. Forget everything you thought you knew about pizza, and see where and why customers clamor for awesome out-of-the-box taste. My two personal faves intrigue me both in terms of their inventive toppings as well as their surprisingly rural locations.

Let’s start with the phenomenon pictured above. Folks, meet the Mac and Cheese pizza. To enjoy a slice of this cheesy and carbtastic pie you’ll need to head to the heartlands. Madison, Wisconsin is home to over 13,000 dairy farms and produces over 130 million pounds of cheese every year. Knowing how much this college town loved their cheese, Ian Gurfield, owner of Ian’s Pizza, felt confident a mac and cheese pizza could work. And work, it did. Covered with cooked macaroni (that gets slightly crispy in the oven), a blend of mozzarella and sharp Wisconsin cheddar and drizzled with tangy, creamy creme fresh, this pie was an instant home run with the college crowd. One girl calls it the perfect “breakup food.” I’d swap a carton of Ben and Jerry’s for a slice of this any day.

In Fayetville, West Virginia — yes I said West Virginia — Pies and Pints’ chef and co-owner David Bailey is making culinary waves with his innovative pizzas, including his signature Grape Pie (pictured below). Beginning with a base of provolone and mozzarella cheese, he liberally sprinkles his dough with sweet and juicy red grapes cut in half, salty crumbles of gorgonzola and fresh rosemary. The sweet and salty combo has the whole town hooked, as well as the multitude of outdoor enthusiasts that visit the area for recreation. It certainly gives me a hankerin’ to hit up those country roads where (perhaps) I belong, after all.

Whether you hail from the City that never sleeps or a small town in the Midwest (and sure, even Chicago) chances are you appreciate a good pie, so tune in to Pizza Outside the Boxtonightat8pm ET on Cooking Channel. Have we already got you hungry to hit the road? Here’s the location list for each of these masterpies.